Mother Nature

“’Scuse me, ‘scuse me, coming through,” Jack sighed as he slowly maneuvered his way through the tiny elves pattering around the North Pole workshop. The little creatures dashed past his feet, running this way and that and getting into all sorts of mischief. Meanwhile, the yetis were hard at work on the toys, and occasionally Jack had to edge past them in order to keep going. Jamie trailed behind him, his eyes huge with wonder as he stared in awe at the magnificent sight; he watched eagerly as the yetis painstakingly built their toys, and the elves bounced around believing that they were being useful. “Jamie, we have business to take care of, remember? I promise I’ll give you a full tour when this is all over,” Jack gently reminded the boy when he noticed that Jamie was lagging behind.

“Right! I’m coming!” Jamie cried and hurriedly ran after Jack so as not to be left behind. The pair eventually arrived at the room where the large globe of lights was centered, gently spinning and glowing magnificently. The other Guardians had already assembled there.

“Jack! Hello, hello, nice to see you!” North boomed in his heavy Russian accent as he lumbered forward with surprising agility to wrap an arm around Jack’s shoulder. He smiled down at Jamie and, with the other hand, patted him affectionately on the head. “Hello to you to, Jam- Wait! Jack, what is he doing here? No one is supposed to see workshop!” he cried, jumping back to stare accusingly down at Jack. The boy shrugged in response, twirling his staff.

“He wanted to come! What was I going to do, say no to a kid?” He smirked and casually waved off North’s concern. The large man sighed heavily and ran a hand down his face, muttering about how Jack had created a total disaster. Jamie, meanwhile, was running around the room and cheerfully greeting his heroes in turn.

“Hello, Jamie! Let me see those teeth!” the beautiful Tooth Fairy beamed as he approached. As directed, Jamie gave her a big, bright smile, and Tooth nodded in approval. The tiny fairies chittered to each other and buzzed around Jamie’s head, then all sighed lovingly when they spotted Jack. A few even fainted and dropped out of the air. Jamie then went to the Easter Bunny, who couldn’t resist a small smile.

“G’day, mate. I hope you’re ready for Easter,” he mused and Jamie bounced up and down excitedly.

“I am! I’m gonna get the most eggs this year!” he vowed triumphantly, then waved to the Sandman. In response, a golden hand appeared over the Guardian’s head, waving back.

“Alright, alright, enough of greetings,” North thundered, clapping his hands together and looking at Jack expectantly. “Why have you called us, Jack?” Jack frowned slightly and traced his staff across the ground in discomfort, and little icy patterns appeared in its wake.

“Well… Jamie and I saw Pitch,” he answered, and the Guardians all jumped back in alarm and glanced at the globe, as if its light were going to be snuffed out just at the mention of the villain’s name. “He was talking to himself, and said something about ‘taking the life from the Earth’… Whatever that means,” Jack continued, and North rubbed his chin in thought.

“He is definitely up to no good,” he frowned, then Easter Bunny began laughing uncontrollably. After his fit, he waved a hand in dismissal.

“He’s just a pouter, that’s all. We gave Pitch a good wallopin’; there’s no way he’ll try somethin’ so soon!” he snickered, then cried out in pain as Sandy procured a golden whip and proceeded to strike him on the behind with it. “Ow, you little bugger!” he whined as he rubbed his bottom tenderly.

“Sandy is right,” North sighed, then clasped his hands behind his back and began to pace the room in deep thought. “We underestimated Pitch last time, and we should not make same mistake again.” After his pacing yielded no sudden revelation, he glanced up into the wide window situated in the domed ceiling above, where the large full moon could be seen shining softly in the sky. “I wonder if Man in Moon has anything to say about this,” he thought aloud. As if in response, moonbeams descended into the room and settled onto the blue crystal pedestal in front of the globe. The group gathered around it, watching in curiosity and excitement as the light bent to reveal the form of a young woman, with a small bow in her hand and long hair adorned with flowers.

“Oi, that’s Mother Nature,” Bunny remarked over Jack’s shoulder.

“Who?” Jack responded in confusion, then jumped back as Jamie rushed in front of him to get to Bunny.

“Mother Nature is real? Is she really married to Father Time?” Jamie babbled, and Bunny laughed and held up his hands in a motion for Jamie to slow down. North chimed in, chuckling to himself.

“Of course not! That is just legend. Father Time is very, very old man, but Mother Nature is a lot younger. It would not be good matchup,” he explained, then glanced back at the pedestal. “Still, this is very strange. Mother Nature keeps mostly to herself, and even we Guardians know little about her.”

“This must mean that Pitch’s plans have something to do with her, right?” Jack asked, looking at all the Guardians in turn. “So, where do we find her?” All the Guardians looked down at their feet, avoiding the question. After a few moments of silence, Bunny responded.

“Well, mate… We don’t really know.”